Coloring Serum Beads and Preventing Color Bleeding from Water-Soluble Extracts
คำถาม
I would like to inquire about the colorants used for coloring serum (specifically for covering the color of extracts added to the serum, not for staining the skin after application). The colorant should not be water-soluble, as I am making serum beads and the clear gel surrounding the beads should remain clear without color bleeding from the beads. Could you recommend suitable colorants?
Additionally, I have another question. The extract I am using has a relatively dark color and is water-soluble. When this extract is mixed into the beads and the beads are placed in the clear gel, the color from the extract bleeds out of the beads and seeps into the clear gel, making the product unappealing. Do you have any recommendations for addressing this issue?
Thank you very much.
คำตอบ
Oil-Soluble Colors for Serum Beads
Based on your requirement for oil-soluble colors to use within serum beads that should not bleed into a clear water-based gel, the following products are suitable for coloring the oil phase of your beads:
- ReadyMix™ FD&C Yellow No.5 Lake (Oil Based): A yellow lake pigment dispersed in an oil base, easy to mix directly into oil or formulations.
- ReadyMix™ FD&C Blue No.1 Lake (Oil Based): A blue lake pigment dispersed in an oil base, easy to mix directly into oil or formulations.
- ReadyMix™ D&C Red No.7 Lake (Oil Based): A red lake pigment dispersed in an oil base, easy to mix directly into oil or formulations.
- ReadyMix™ Iron Oxides Black (Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate Based): A black iron oxide pigment dispersed in an oil base, suitable for coloring oil-based products.
- D&C Yellow No.11 (CI 47000) (Oil-Soluble, EasyDissolve): An oil-soluble yellow dye that dissolves directly in oil.
These colorants are designed to be soluble or dispersible in oil and are intended to color the product itself without staining the skin, which fits your need to color the beads without the color migrating to the surrounding gel.
Preventing Water-Soluble Extract Color Bleeding
Regarding the issue of water-soluble extract color bleeding from your beads into the clear gel, this is a common challenge when combining ingredients with different solubilities in incompatible phases. Since your extract is water-soluble and is contained within an oil-based bead that is surrounded by a water-based gel, the water-soluble color naturally wants to migrate from the oil phase (where it is less soluble) into the water phase (the gel, where it is highly soluble).
Preventing this migration completely can be difficult due to the fundamental properties of solubility and diffusion. While specific formulation techniques might help minimize it (such as optimizing the bead's barrier properties or using modified versions of the extract), the tools available cannot provide a direct solution or specific product recommendation to prevent the bleeding of an already incorporated water-soluble extract from an oil phase into a water phase.
